UK judge bans mother from taking daughter to Egypt ... because FGM

The father viewed FGM as part of "Egyptian culture and tradition."

 

 

Source: YouTube

A British-Muslim mother was recently banned from traveling to Egypt with her baby daughter, over fears that her one-year-old child might be subjected to female genital mutilation.

The mother converted to Islam after meeting her husband, an Egyptian national, in his native country. She planned to take her newborn baby to the North African country to see her father and his family.
However, UK Judge Justice Allison Russell issued a Female Genital Mutilation Protection Order, effectively banning the mother from traveling outside the UK with her daughter until 2032. She ordered that the child's passport be retained by the court till then.
Russell said the father viewed FGM as part of "Egyptian culture and tradition," according to The Daily Mail. Despite the fact that he also believes the procedure should be legalized, the father said that he does not intend to subject his daughter to the procedure.
"It is not intended that the girl should not be able to see her father or members of the paternal family and the court would encourage the father and his family to visit her in England," Russell added.

Egypt Female Genital Mutilation Worse Than Ever Despite Ban

 

 

FGM is a criminal offense in the UK, however it is a common practice in Egypt

Source: UNICEF/2013 FGM Report

FGM, which is defined as a "partial or total removal of external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons" by the World Health Organization (WHO), is extremely common in Egypt.
According to a 2014 survey, 92 percent of Egyptian women aged between 15 and 49 have been circumcised.
This can lead to worrisome side effects, including severe physical pain, bleeding, and the risk of wound infections.
The practice has also been revealed to cause a delay in women's sexual response cycle.
Earlier this year, the spokesperson of Egypt's primary Forensic Medicine Department, Dr. Hesham Abdel Hamid, revealed that 70 to 80 percent of all Egyptian women cannot orgasm due to the practice.

Minha Husaini Girl form #Egypt work as tea boy! #women

Minha Husaini she girl 22 old i think,she finish her study in Tourism and because no security now work for must of egyptian people .

she  shift her hair to can deal with guys in st, and Most of the time, sexual harassment, and she go to work in tahrir Sq !!! in down town  ,,,, its dangers place , but she go bur the police come after her
and they asked her to give then money to let her work ;)

Stop #Islamophobia

Stop Islamophobia

Islamophobia is alive today, as I was reminded again a few days ago when someone told me that the Qur'an only teaches hatred. Chalk that up perhaps to ignorance, but like many people, he expressed at the same time a fear of Muslims that I have noticed in many countries all over the world. I define this as Islamophobia.

Yet I just read an article claiming that Islamophobia does not exist, and another contending that since anti-Islamic crimes have declined after peaking in September 2001 the US cannot be described as Islamophobic.

However, if Islamophobia is defined as a fear or hatred of Islam and Muslims, then it does exist. In fact, some Muslims argue that this term is inadequate to describe the hatred of their faith and the discrimination they experience. They would prefer to call it 'anti-Islamic racism' since it combines a dislike of a particular religion and an active discrimination against the people who belong to that faith.

Jews, who have suffered discrimination, protest Islamophobia

The Runnymede Trust in the 1997 document, "Islamophobia: A Challenge For Us All," identified eight components that define Islamophobia. These are just as relevant today as they were 15 years ago:

1) Islam is seen as a monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to change.

2) Islam is seen as separate and 'other'. It does not have values in common with other cultures, is not affected by them and does not influence them.

3) Islam is seen as inferior to the West. It is seen as barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist.

4) Islam is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism and engaged in a 'clash of civilisations.'

5) Islam is seen as a political ideology and is used for political or military advantage.

6) Criticisms made of the West by Islam are rejected out of hand.

7) Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society.

8) Anti-Muslim hostility is seen as natural or normal.

Islamophobia is a website that describes Islamophobia as "an irrational fear or prejudice towards Islam and Muslims." It includes many articles introducing Islam. Another site documents cases of Islamophobia.

Islamophobia is irrational, not Islam. We tend to fear the unknown or things that we are ignorant of. The list that the Runnymede Trust provides illustrates the appalling ignorance of many people about Islam. One of the most effective ways of combating Islamophobia is through education. It is by far the easiest, since deep-seated prejudices are harder to eradicate.

Some people, unfortunately, prefer to wallow in ignorance. They only know the myths that the media, or at least segments thereof, pedal in order to sell what purports to be news.

Nearly a fifth of Americans believe that Barack Obama is Muslim. This myth was popular during the 2008 election in the US. In this election year it is crucial that this blatant example of Islamophobia be eradicated once and for all. Unfortunately, it will probably be perpetuated by those who can benefit from such ignorance.

Europeans are not immune to Islamophobia either. Many there dread “Eurabia,” the ostensibly imminent Arab/Muslim takeover of the continent, even though its Muslim population is less than 3 per cent.

Islamophobia is not just interpersonal: it is systemic. It is intimately connected with sexism and violence, both of which are endemic in Western societies. That is why it is so difficult to eradicate Islamophobia.

The media are complicit in perpetuating Islamophobia. Many journalists know little about religion in general and Islam in particular. Deadlines are one factor in their ignorance but much more crucial is the relegation of religion to the private sphere in the West. Secularized journalists thus find it especially difficult to understand Islam, a religion that contradicts this relegation, since it emphatically denies the public/private distinction.

Anti-semitism and Christophobia exist as well in Western societies. The former is attacked more often than any other group in the US, but this does not mean that Islamophobia is "a gross exaggeration that has been peddled by Muslim political leaders with an agenda," as one website puts it. 

All hate crimes must stop, not just the one perpetrated against the group one belongs to. Islamophobia must be eradicated. The fight against every form of religious phobia is part of that process of eradication. 

We must support each other so that one day every form of religious phobia will be gone.

 Isha'Allah.

Man charged with spitting at Muslim woman as she walked through Bristol’s Cabot Circus

Police have charged a 26-year-old man with spitting at a Muslim woman as she walked through Cabot Circus.

As previously reported, Hasina Khan was on her way to work when she was allegedly attacked at about 9am on July 21. Ms Khan said she had was spat on and verbally abused by a stranger who approached her as she walked through the shopping centre.

Avon and Somerset police arrested Jack Hughes, of Upton Road, Southville. He has now been charged with racially- or religiously-aggravated common assault and is due to appear before Bristol magistrates on November 13.

Any witnesses to the incident who have not yet come forward should call PC Hannah King on 101, quoting crime reference number 74214/14.

A Muslim woman was left shocked and in tears when she was verbally abused and spat at by a stranger ranting about the Middle East.

Hasina Khan, who was born in Bristol, was on her way to work when she was attacked by a man in Cabot Circus at about 9am on Monday. Saliva ended up on her hijab and her left hand.

The 36-year-old, who lives in Horfield, said: “I’ve experienced hostility and racism many times, from being called Paki in the street to having alcohol thrown at me.

“I remember during the 1990 Iraq invasion being pushed by a boy at school followed by ‘haha we are bombing you’, to more recent years when the world turned to topple Libya and I experienced yet again a rise in racism. In fact, every time there is aggression towards Muslims outside of the UK, I experience aggression from within the UK.

“However, nothing could prepare me for what happened on Monday. Because of Israel’s bombardment of the mainly-Muslim population of Gaza, was I again being targeted?

“I had just past Pret A Manger and a man came charging towards me with such aggression I thought he was going to punch me in the face. He was ranting and he spat in my face. I felt it fall onto my left hand.

“I was in shock at what was happening. I asked him what his problem was, but he continued to rant and said something along the lines of ‘your people are killing’ and something about ‘Middle East’ and ‘killing Christians’. He spat at me again. It was terrifying. I thought he was going to attack me at any second.

“Then my defence mechanism just kicked in and I started to shout at him. What a coward – he then started to back away. He tried to say something else, but I continued to shout at him until he left Cabot Circus. I’ve read so many reports that hate crime towards Muslim women is increasing in the UK, but nothing really prepares you for what to do if it happens and how humiliating, terrifying and dirty it makes you feel.

“I hope he is caught so he cannot terrorise and traumatise other women.”

The attacker was white, with short-brown hair and a short beard, a dark-green T-shirt with a white pattern or writing on the front, and he had two silver necklaces with silver coin-shaped pendants.

When Hasina arrived at work near Temple Meads she found her hijab covered in spit. She washed it off, but was later told by police saliva can be used for DNA, so wants to warn others in case something similar happens to them. She said she hoped the city council, police and Muslim community could work together as much as possible to reduce religious and racial hate crimes.

Hasina was disappointed a call was turned down for a minute’s silence for the people of Palestine to be held at a Bristol City Council meeting this week.

Giving advice to other Muslim women, Hasina said: “Perhaps Muslim women should carry a spare scarf so they can have a clean one, should they be attacked. I would also suggest, if possible, Muslim women do not travel alone, even in the daylight, as these cowardly men seem to prey on what they perceive to be vulnerable looking young women.”

When she arrived at work, her colleagues rallied around her.

Heather Hatch said: “Thankfully, Hasina was not physically injured but mentally she was shocked, upset, shaking and tearful from the unprovoked attack.”

Carolyn Parker added: “When I saw Hasina rinsing clothing on Monday morning, I had assumed spilt coffee or similar, so was shocked when I realised that she was shaking and very upset. Asking if she was OK, I was even more shocked at her response which included expletives that I had never heard her utter before. When she told me that no one had tried to help, or even asked afterwards whether she was ok, I was truly sickened by the public’s lack of action towards her.”

Another colleague, Leanne Fletcher said: “I am so shocked by what happened to Hasina and can only imagine how terrified she would of felt when this man assaulted her in Cabot circus on her way to work. I can only hope that this will not make her afraid to walk around the city she was born in. This was a disgusting act and a violation to her.”

Avon and Somerset police spokesman Martin Dunscombe said: “Officers are investigating these allegations and taking them very seriously. We know there were other people in Cabot Circus at the time and we would appeal for anyone who witnessed what happened, or has any information that might help the investigation, to contact us on 101, quoting 74214/14.”

Victims of hate crimes can call Tell MAMA on 08004561226.

Bristol Post, 24 July 2014

For an earlier attack on a Muslim woman in Bristol, see “Muslim girl spat at and racially abused in Bristol city centre – and no one came to help”, Bristol Post, 17 July 2014

Update:  See “Muslim spitting incident: police release CCTV images of suspect”, Bristol Post, 28 July 2014

Update 2:  “Muslim woman who was spat on in Bristol speaks out”, BBC News, 30 July 2014

Update 3:  See “Arrest over racial spitting incident in Cabot Circus, Bristol”, Bristol Post, 31 July 2014

#Muslim woman attacked on Vienna train

A 37-year-old Muslim woman from Vienna has complained to police after being attacked by a woman whilst travelling on Vienna’s metro.

Zeliha Cicek

She believes that the woman, who hit her in the face, did so because she was wearing a headscarf. Police said they believed the attacker was “disturbed”.

Zeliha Cicek is the third Muslim to have been assaulted in Vienna in the last month.

Cicek, a school teacher and mother of three children, is ethnically Turkish. She said she was talking to her sister on an U3 underground train on her mobile phone when the woman started shouting at her in English. “I calmly told her she could speak to me in German and suddenly she stood up and slapped me in the face. I dropped my phone and it broke, I was so shocked,” she said.

An English man came to Cicek’s aid but the angry woman scratched his face. She got out of the train at Stephansplatz – and despite Cicek screaming that she had attacked her the woman was able to flee without being stopped.

Cicek told the Kurier newspaper that she didn’t believe that the woman was drunk or mad. “The English man also thought that she had a problem with me wearing the headscarf,” she said.

In August two elderly Muslim ladies wearing headscarves were attacked in Favoritenstraße. Police were reportedly slow to respond to this incident, and only began questioning suspects days after.

Austria’s Islamic Religious Community Association said that Muslims often experience discrimination in Austria but that “it is not well documented”. Spokeswoman Carla Amina Baghajati said that the association plans to start collecting data on all religiously motivated incidents. However, she said she did not believe that the police lacked sensitivity to the issue.

Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner again warned against the “spread of hatred and incitement by populists. They become complicit when it comes to attacks on innocent people.”

Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day to all Egyptian and Arab mothers all over the globe celebrating this day today , even if it was late. 

Happy Mother Day to all the martyrs’ mothers from all parties who lost their children especially in last year because of a disgusting fight over power. Happy Mother Day to the Mothers of the detainees who are waiting for the return of their children back home safe. 

Happy Mother Day to all the fantastic women and mothers working hardly to provide their children a better life. 

Happy Mother Day to all mothers in the world. 

International #Women's Day 2014: Mothers and daughters around the world - in #pictures

On the eve of International Women’s Day, Reuters presents a set of portraits of mothers and their daughters from around the globe

Rosaura Realsola, 51, with her daughter Alexandra Yamileth, 13, in front of their home in Tepito in Mexico City. Rosaura is a domestic cleaner who finished her education at 16. She says that when she was a child she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. Rosaura hopes her daughter Alexandra will become a nurse. Photograph: Henry Romero/Reuters

Adetola Ibitoye, 39, sits with her daughter Iteoluwa, 9, in their home in Omole, Lagos. When Adetola was growing up, she wanted to run a fashion business. Now she is a clothes designer. Adetola says she wants her daughter to be the best at whatever she sets her mind to. Iteoluwa says she wants to grow up to be a university teacher. Photograph: Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters

Hala Tanmus, 40, and her daughter Maya, 10, pose in the living room of their home in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Hala is a secretary who finished her education at age 20. When she was younger she wanted to become a lawyer. She hopes that her daughter Maya will become an interior designer. Maya, who says she will finish education age 20, would also like to become an interior designer. Photograph: Ammar Awad/Reuters

Charlotte Stafarce, 49, and her daughter Scarlett, 9, pose in the living room of their home in Zebbug, outside Valletta, Malta. Charlotte is an actress and freelance drama teacher who finished her education at 17. Charlotte hopes her daughter will be a scientist when she grows up. Scarlett says she would like to be a vet. Photograph: Darrin Zammit Lupi//Reuters

Vered, 43, poses with her daughter Alma, 13, in their home in Kibbutz Hukuk near the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. Vered got a degree in design at the age of 27 and currently runs educational art projects in local communities. Vered hopes her daughter Alma will find a profession that brings her happiness and satisfaction. Alma will graduate from high school in five years, at the age of 18, and says she would like to be a part of the film industry as a director, camerawoman, editor or actor. Photograph: Nir Elias/Reuters

Lucy Oyela, 42, poses with her daughter Abber Lillian, 14, at their home in Onang, near Gulu town in northern Uganda. Lucy is a farmer who finished her education at age 18. She said that when she was a child she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. Lucy says that she really wants for her daughter to become a nurse. Her daughter Abber says she is not sure what she wants to do when she grows up, but thinks she might like to become an accountant. Photograph: James Akena/Reuters

Zhang Haijing, 41, and her daughter Zhu Nuo, 11, pose for a photograph outside their apartment building in Lanzhou, Gansu province, China. Zhang Haijing is a mid-level manager for Xinhua Bookstore Group. When she was a child, she wanted to become a pre-school teacher. Zhang says she wants her daughter to have a stable job, but does not mind what she does so long as she is happy. Zhu Nuo says she wants to get a doctoral degree and become a professor. Photograph: Aly Song/Reuters

Alicia Chiquin, 43, and her daughter Fidelina Ja, 18, stand together at their home in Pambach, Guatemala. Alicia has no education and has always worked the land. Her daughter Fidelina also has no education and when she grows up she says she will continue to work at home and on the land. Photograph: Jorge Dan Lopez/Reuters

Raimunda Eliandra Alves, 45, poses for a photograph with her daughter Ana Paula Leonardo Justino, 10, at their home at the Pavao-Pavaozinho slum in Rio de Janeiro. Raimunda is a supermarket cashier who finished her education at age 19. When she was a child, she wanted to become a maths teacher. She hopes her daughter will become a veterinarian. Ana Paula says that she will go to high school and then finish college in 2025. She also wants to be a vet when she grows up. Photograph: Sergio Moraes/Reuters

Niculina Fieraru, 39, poses with her daughter Flori Gabriela Dumitrache, 13, in their room in Gura Sutii village, Romania. Niculina Fieraru is unemployed and has two children. She hopes that her daughter will become a seamstress. Flori Gabriela wants to become a pop singer and she hopes to go to high school in a town 14 miles away. Her family cannot afford to pay for it, but a Romanian NGO has offered a scholarship to make this possible. Photograph: Bogdan Cristel/Reuters

Claire Coyne, 43, poses with her daughter Ella, 10, at their home in Shepshed, England. Claire, an assistant banker at Coutts, studied until she was 15. Her ambition as a child was to be a PE teacher. She says she doesn't mind what her daughter becomes, as long as she enjoys herself. Ella hasn't thought about when she will finish education yet, but says she might like to go to university. She does not know what job she would like to do yet, but thinks she might like to be a dance teacher. Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters

Manami Miyazak, 39, and her daughter Nanaha, 13, pose at their home in Tokyo. Manami, who is a housewife, studied until she was 20. Her ambition was to work somewhere where she could meet lots of people. She hopes that her daughter will build a loving home with a happy marriage. She says it would be great if her daughter could find work that makes use of her abilities and interests. Nanaha wants to be either a designer, musician or a nurse. Photograph: Toru Hanai/Reuters

Sulochna Mohan Sawant, 23, poses with her five-year-old daughter Shamika Sawant inside their home in Mumbai, India. Sulochna, who works as a maid, wanted to become a doctor when she was a child., but could only study until the age of 14. Sulochna wants her daughter to become a teacher. Shamika also wants to become a teacher. Photograph: Mansi Thapliyal/Reuters

Oumou Ndiaye, 30, and her daughter Aissata Golfa, 9, pose for a picture in their house in Bamako, Mali. Oumou, who is a housewife, did not go to school. As a child she hoped to marry a local businessman. She hopes her daughter will marry someone from their ethnic group when she grows up, and that she will stay in education until she is 20 years old. Aissata says that she will finish school when she is 18, and hopes to be a schoolteacher when she grows up. Photograph: Joe Penney/Reuters

Lucia Mayta, 43, and her daughter Luz Cecilia, 12, pose for a photograph inside their bodega in La Paz, Bolivia. Lucia studied until the fourth grade of primary school, and knows how to read and write and do basic maths. She runs a bodega, and the family live in a back room. She hopes to build a house in the future. Luz Cecilia is in seventh grade and wants to be a singer. Photograph: David Mercado/Reuters

Denise Arthur, 52, and her daughter Linnaea Thibedeau, 13, stand together at home near Blackhawk, Colorado. Denise Arthur is a restoration ecologist. She has a PhD and finished her education at 34. Her ambition as a child was to be an animal behaviorist. Denise hopes her daughter Linnaea will become a biologist when she grows up. Linnaea would like to get a PhD and become a marine biologist. Photograph: Rick Walking/Reuters

Noor Zia, 40, poses with her daughter Saba Ahmadi, 11, at their home in Kabul, Afghanistan. Noor, who is a teacher, studied until she was 28. Her ambition was to become a doctor, but she couldn't afford the fees. She hopes her daughter will become a well-known, highly skilled doctor. Saba wants to go to university, and would like to become a renowned lawyer. Photograph: Omar Sobhani/Reuters

Bidaa Mhem Thabet al-Hasan (Um Suleiman), 39, poses with her daughter Mariam Khaled Masto, 9, outside their home in Deir al-Zor, Syria. Bidaa is the director of a school founded by a group of teachers and volunteers. Her ambition was to become a gynaecologist. She hopes her daughter will join the pharmacy school, but says that she will let her follow her own ambitions and that her success will make her happy. Mariam will finish her education in 13 years, and would like to become an Arabic teacher in Deir al-Zor. Photograph: Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

Susana Maria Cardona, 33, and her daughter Alejandra Ruby Cardona, 12, pose for a photograph inside their home in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Susana Maria, who is a housewife, finished school at 17. Her ambition was to become a lawyer. She hopes that her daughter will become a doctor. Alejandra Ruby will finish education in 11 years and hopes to be an agronomist. Photograph: Jorge Cabrera/Reuters

Saciido Sheik Yacquub, 34, poses for a picture with her daughter Faadumo Subeer Mohamed, 13, at their home in Hodan district IDP camp in Mogadishu. Saciido, who runs a small business, wanted to be a businesswoman when she was a child. She studied until she was 20. She hopes that Faadumo will become a doctor. Faadumo will finish school in 2017 and hopes to be a doctor when she grows up. Photograph: Feisal Omar/Reuters

Father demands 'one million likes' dowry for daughter Yemen Facebook

Father demands 'one million likes' dowry for daughter

A Yemeni young man who sought to marry his sweetheart was shocked when her father demanded “one million likes” on Facebook as a dowry for her.

The father, Salim Ayyash, asked the would-be husband he must write the word “like” one million times over a period of one month in all his tweets and contacts with friends on Facebook. But the father quickly assured the daunted young man, identified as Osama, that he might consider cutting that number before the end of the deadline.

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Ayyash, a well-known Facebook personality in the western Yemeni province of Taizz, also told the suitor that he would be watching his Facebook and Twitter activity to check whether he was making progress.

“Ayyash said he was watching Osama’s online activities as he set off to accomplish that dowry task



…he also told him that before the end of the month, he would evaluate his achievement and could reduce the dowry if he is satisfied with his achievement,” the Saud Arabic language daily Sada said in a report from Yemen.

It said the rare request by Ayyash came amidst soaring wedding expenses and dowries (money paid by grooms to their brides under Islamic law) in Yemen.

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Post by ‎نقطة حوار‎.

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#Israel girls army

Aliaa Magda Elmahdy again ! #egypt

!Aliaa Magda  Elmahdy new pictures about islam

مذكرات ثائرة علياء مهدى و الفن الجنسى #علياء_المهدي Alia Mahdy

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Part 1

#Egypt needs a revolution against #sexual_violence

In November 2011, after I joined a protest on Mohamed Mahmoud Street in Cairo with a friend, Egyptian riot police beat me – breaking my left arm and right hand – and sexually assaulted me. I was also detained by the interior minister and military intelligence for 12 hours.
After I was released, it took all I had not to cry when I saw the look on the face of a very kind woman I'd never met before, except on Twitter, who came to pick me up and take me to the emergency room for medical attention. (She is now a cherished friend.)
As I described to the female triage nurse what had had happened to me, she stopped at "and they sexually assaulted me" to ask:

how could you let them do that to you? Why didn't you resist?

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It had been about 14 or 15 hours since riot police had attacked me; I just wanted to be X-rayed to see if they had broken anything. Both arms looked like the Elephant Man's limbs. I explained to the nurse that when you're surrounded by four or five riot police, whacking at you with their night sticks, there isn't much "resisting" one can do.
I've been thinking a lot about that exchange with the nurse. Whenever I read the ghastly toll of how many women were sexually assaulted during last week's protests against Mohamed Morsi in Tahrir Square, I have to wonder about such harshness after brutality.

Activists with grassroots groups on the ground who intervene to extricate women from sexual violence in Tahrir said they documented more than 100 cases; several were mob assaults, several requiring medical attention. One woman was raped with a sharp object. I hope none was asked "why didn't you resist?"

This isn't an essay on how Egyptian regimes like Mubarak's targeted female activists and journalists as a political ploy. Nor is it about how regimes like Morsi's largely ignored sexual violence, and even when it did acknowledge it, blamed women for bringing assaults upon themselves. Nor is it an article about how such assaults and such refusal to hold anyone accountable have given a green light to our abusers that women's bodies are fair game. Nor will I tell you that – were it not for the silence and denial surrounding sexual assault in Egypt – such assaults would not be enacted so frequently on women's bodies on the Egyptian streets.
I don't know who is behind those mob assaults in Tahrir, but I do know that they would not attack women if they didn't know they would get away with it and that the women would always be asked "why didn't you resist?"

From the ground up, we need a national campaign against sexual violence in Egypt. It must push whoever we elect to govern Egypt next, as well as our legislators, to take sexual assaults more seriously.
If our next president chooses – as Morsi did – to address the nation from a stage in Tahrir Square for the inauguration, let him (or her) salute the women who turned out in their thousands upon thousands in that same square, knowing they risked assaults and yet refusing to be pushed out of public space. The square's name literally means "liberation", and it will be those women who, in spite of the risk of sexual violence, will have helped to enable his (or her) presence there as the new president of Egypt.
Undoubtedly, the Egyptian interior ministry needs reform, especially when it comes to how it deals with sexual assault. The police rarely, if ever, intervene, or make arrests, or press charges. It was, after all, the riot police themselves who assaulted me. Their supervising officer even threatened me with gang rape as his conscripts continued their assault of me in front of him.

--> Any woman who ends up in the ER room deserves much better than "why didn't you resist?" Nurses and doctors need training in how best to care for survivors of sexual assault and how to gather evidence.Female police units are said to have been introduced at various precincts, but they need training. They also need rape kits – in the unlikely event any woman actually gathers herself enough to report rape in Egypt. When I was reporting on sexual violence in Cairo in the 1990s, several psychiatrists told me their offices were the preferred destination for women who had survived sexual violence, be it at home or on the streets, because they feared being violated again in police stations.
While that fear is still justifiable today, something has begun to change: more and more women are willing to go public to recount their assaults. I salute those women's courage, but I wonder where they find comfort and support after their retelling is over. PTSD therapy is not readily available in Egypt. We need to train more of our counsellors to offer it to those who want it.
We need to recruit popular football and music stars in advertising campaigns: huge, presidential election campaign style billboards across bridges and buildings – addressing men with clear anti-sexual violence messages, for example – as well as television and radio spots. Culture itself has a role to play in changing this culture: puppet theatre and other arts indigenous to Egypt can help break the taboo of speaking out; and we need more TV shows and films that tackle sexual assaults in their storylines.
There is an innate and burning desire for justice in Egypt. Revolutions will do that. We need to coordinate efforts and aim high to ensure such a campaign meets the needs of girls and women across the country, not just Cairo and the big cities.
In January 2012, I spent a few days with a fierce 13-year-old girl we'll call Yasmine, for a documentary film, on which I was a writer, called Girl Rising. The film paired nine female writers with girls each from their country of birth whose stories they recounted to illustrate the importance of girls' education.
Five months before we met, Yasmine had survived a rape. My arms were still broken and in casts when we met and I naively considered removing the casts and pretending I was OK in order to "protect her". I did not want her to think that 30 years down the line, at my age, she could still be subject to such violation.
She certainly did not need my protection and I'm glad I kept my casts on, because as soon as we met, she simply and forthrightly told me:

I'm going to open my heart to you and you're going to open your heart to me, OK?
She then went on to recount what happened to her. I admired her courage and her insistence on going to the police with her mother to report the rape. She was lucky she found an understanding police officer who took her complaint seriously.
When I told her what had happened to me, she was shocked that it was police who'd attacked me. "Have you reported what happened to you? Have you taken them to court?" she asked me.
Yasmine has not had a single day of formal education. She believed she deserved justice. We all do.